


Talons and Wingtips

by Xigbat



Category: The Transformers (IDW Generation One), Transformers (Bay Movies), Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers: Prime
Genre: Drabble Collection
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-15
Updated: 2016-05-01
Packaged: 2018-03-18 00:36:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3549470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xigbat/pseuds/Xigbat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A series of drabbles based on the Transformers series. Most revolve around seekers and one shuttle in particular, though there may be a combo breaker or two.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Sire Protocols (Skyfire/Starscream)

**Author's Note:**

> In an effort to get myself back into writing more often whether I felt like it or not, I decided to try my hand at a drabble fic. I had a few big pieces in mind, but with my new job and random muse, I decided to take it down a notch. I find myself in a series that I never expected to fall this deep into and now I have three seekers and a shuttle bunking out in my mind 24/7.  
> These fics will mostly be Prime and my own version of movie!verse.  
> I will try to mark which verse each is set in, but if you like you can really imagine them in any one I suppose. The movie!verse (which is where most of these are taken from) is set after the series is ended (this is written as of the fourth movie being out) and I have of course taken some liberties with how I want this to end. (Mostly involving a spark mutation and a sort of shaky truce out of convenience more than anything)  
> Okay now with that out of the way, enjoy the robotic goodness!

* * *

 

Sire Protocols  
Starscream/Skyfire  
(Movie!verse/Prime)

  
For all Skyfire claimed that he could handle every bit of his bondmate’s wicked personality and prickly demeanor, there was still one part of Starscream that the shuttle was unsure about ever getting over.

It was normal for sires to become aggressive when their bondmate was carrying, but put that aggression into an already fiery and violent personality like Starscream and well, what you got was nothing short of a ticking time bomb.

The poor mech who had tried to take on an unsuspecting Skyfire got a nasty surprise in the form of a red and white seeker dropping out of the sky and landing directly on his shoulders. Once the mech hit the ground, there was no getting back up.  
Starscream let out a vicious snarl, extending already long talons and digging them deep into his opponent’s chassis.  
Unfazed by his prey’s pleading cries, the vibrant colored seeker sank the needle sharp claws into thick armor, prying away the protective plating with scary ease. He quickly found what he was looking for in the form of the struggling mech’s spark chamber, shattering the protective covering and unforgivingly ripping the precious life force away, spraying both himself and his victim with energon.

Skyfire vented hard, watching as his bonded stood up with an eerie calm, flicking excess energon off his talons and inspecting their sharp edges for any imperfection. Finding none, the seeker calmly cleaned his claws by using his mouth, ruby colored optics slowly rolling to focus on the shuttle observing the show. He flashed an unnerving grin, holding up the now greying mech’s fluttering spark with an almost prideful expression.

“Got him.”

With those words acting as a cue, Starscream clenched his fist, the sputtering spark dying in a burst of light, the remaining energon trailing down and staining white finish.  
Okay so maybe aggressive really didn’t even begin to cover his bonded’s condition.

Clinically insane was more like it.


	2. Crash and Burn (Command Trine)

Crash and Burn

Command Trine  
(Movie!verse/Prime/Any)

It all had happened so quickly.

One second he was leaving his opponents in the smoke of his contrails, devastating them with a sonic boom that left the enemy jets floundering in the air like fish out of water.

The very next moment he himself was plummeting to the planet’s surface, wings feeling as if they were literally on fire.  
Later Thundercracker would find out that they really had been.

For now though, the ground met the blue seeker with unyielding force, shattering support struts and busting off a few nonessential but very much wanted pieces of his frame.

The world soon became nothing but flashing errors and warnings on his hud, screaming that his body was severely damaged and in a lot of pain.  
As if he couldn’t figure that out for himself.

Letting out a keen of despair, Thundercracker sort of half rolled, half collapsed to his side as black and white blurs landed firmly beside him.

Skywarp’s panic bled through the bond, mixing with Thundercracker’s own and making the feeling all the worse. Luckily for the two of them, their Trine leader was an anchor in the dark to cling to, his steady presence taking control and forcing back his wing’s uncontrolled emotions.

They were both talking to him in their native tongue, the clicks and whirls of seeker 'cant helping further to calm Thundercracker’s rattled nerves. He tried to respond, though his vocalizer cracked with static if tasked with anything more than that initial low keen of pain.

Skywarp gave a distressed chirr, saying something to Starscream that Thundercracker couldn’t quite catch. His audials were beginning to give as well and the world around him descended to darkness. Instead of fighting it, Thundercracker gave in, the blissful feeling of stasis taking him into unawareness.

After all, he would be safe now. You didn’t mess with one of the command trine and expect the other two not to get brutal and often energon-covered revenge.


	3. Pacifism (Skyfire/Starscream)

**Pacifism**

Skyfire/Starscream  
(Prime)

Just because Skyfire was a pacifist, didn’t mean that he didn’t know how to fight.

Many bots just assumed that because the large shuttle didn’t like the idea of combat, it meant that he couldn’t hold his own in fight.

Most never got to find out just how wrong they were.

Usually Skyfire would let Starscream fight their battles, the sharp tongued seeker being much better at physical combat and much more at ease with using those terrifying claws than Skyfire could ever even hope to be. Plus, while Skyfire saw the necessity for certain physical altercations, he did not want to get his own talons dirty so to speak.  
That usually meant that he would turn a blind eye while Starscream took matters into his own servos.

Being a carrier though changed everything.

There were subroutines activating that Skyfire wasn’t even aware he had, and while Starscream’s made him more violent and protective, the shuttle carrier’s had a different effect.

Skyfire found that most of his energy was going to the small spark now sharing a chamber with his own, making the shuttle feel far more exhausted even though he was consuming more energon than normal. He was also recharging more, spending a lot of time curled up in his berth, feeling the hum of the small spark inside of his chest.

Those were all pretty expected, even though this was the first time Skyfire had ever carried. He was pretty well aware of the various subroutines that were automatically activated and Skyfire had watched many other shuttles carry and give life to newsparks.

He never expected though, how far his own protective instincts would go when pushed.

This new world they lived in was still dangerous, as there were bots out there who thought blue optics were still indications of the old regime, or red optics meant unrestrained violence and a nasty temperament.  
Not to mention the prejudice against fliers was still there, despite everything their species had gone through together.

That meant that Skyfire always felt his guardian subroutines buzzing at the back of his processor, always aware of the optics on him and the judging stares of bots that thought spark merging with the /enemy/ was a crime.

Usually Starscream was with him, matching their glares with one of his own, snarling in Vosian and making the watching bots all the more unnerved.  
There always seemed to be some primal reaction in grounders when they heard Vosian tones, armor flaring and claws extending. It seemed to shake them to their core, though Skyfire could never figure out exactly why.

Maybe it was because he was a shuttle that he found the seeker native language to be rather charming.

This day though, Starscream was not with him. He was off with his trine on some sort of official business, though it comforted Skyfire to know that his bondmate would much rather be by his side than off talking politics with filthy grounders.  
Okay, those definitely weren’t Skyfire’s thoughts.  
He couldn’t help the smile on his face, pushing feelings of /calm/ through the bond even as Starscream was pushing /irritation/ back at him.

So preoccupied was he with Starscream’s moods, Skyfire didn’t notice the three bots coming up from behind until they were practically upon him.  
Giving a startled gasp when one of the grounder’s brushed a wing, Skyfire turned around, stumbling slightly from the quick movement, “Oh…terribly sorry….I didn’t…mean to-….” Slowly he trailed off, watching as the bot’s made to corner him against one of the nearby buildings.

“Look what we got here….the shuttle pet of the Vosian /Winglord/.” The lead bot was the biggest of the three, though Skyfire still was several heads taller and much bulkier.  
“Excuse me?” Skyfire flared his wings, though the tips of them brushed the steel of the building behind him as he was effectively cornered.  
“You heard em’.” That came from the bot on the left. He had thick, bulky armor and eyes the color of rich amber.  
“Yannow, rumor has it that e’s sparked.” The third bot spoke, shifting eagerly as his one hand transformed into a blade. “Wonder if it’s true, yea?”  
“Only one way to find out.”

Skyfire didn’t even realize he was moving until it was all over, the three would-be attackers lying on the ground in puddles of their own energon.  
The large shuttle vented hard, stumbling back against the wall that once had prevented his escape and was now the only thing holding him up.

Keening softly, Skyfire allowed himself to slide to the ground, vents struggling hard to keep his frame from overheating.

Primus, he had _attacked_ someone!  
No matter that they were going to hurt him first, Skyfire had still attacked and possibly killed three other cybertronians.

Another keen of distress escaped his vocalizer, and he felt the energon in his tanks begin to bubble.  
Quickly throwing himself to the side, Skyfire purged his tanks, the processed energon trickling down to mix with the still growing puddles under the shuttle-mech’s would be attackers.

Feeling panic and fear from the newspark in his chest forced Skyfire to calm himself, pushing away from the ground and leaning once more against the steel building behind him.

“Primus….”

Skyfire didn’t know how long it was he sat there, dazed and in shock, doing his best to calm not only his own spark, but the small one sharing his chamber as well. He didn’t want to move or even speak, for fear of losing control again.

“Woa….did /he/ do that?!”

Skywarp’s voice broke Skyfire’s concentration, and the shuttleformer shuttered his optics several times before focusing on the three seekers who had landed in front of him.

“Well I don’t see anyone else around idiot.”

At the sound of his mate’s voice, Skyfire keened again, struggling to focus on the red and silver seeker standing in the middle of the other two.  
Starscream flicked his wings back, nearly knocking Skywarp to the side as he moved with an eerie calm to Skyfire’s side, not even bothering to step around the pooling energon.

“Did they hurt you?”

“No.” Skyfire sounded distressed at the fact, desperately grabbing for one of Starscream’s taloned servos. “Primus…are...are they dead?”

“No. Do you want them to be?”

“No!” Skyfire shook his head rapidly, though the movement threatened to begin the tank purging process all over again. “N…no just….just let them lay there.”

Starscream was frowning, wings canted in a mixture of distress and irritation. Someone had threatened his mate enough to activate the carrier subroutines that were designed to protect even the most combat-inept mechs and the sparklings they carried.

The fact that Skyfire wouldn’t let him kill the attackers was giving Starscream very itchy talons.

Finally he relented with a vented sigh, kneeling down to give Skyfire some reachable support. “Come then…lets have you looked at.”

Skyfire nodded, taking Starscream up on his offer of support as he put his arm around his mate’s shoulders, careful of the wings. “Yes…I…would just like to get home.”

Starscream flicked his wings in a command and Skywarp approached, the two of them sharing a look and a quick conversation over their trine bond.  
“Skywarp is going to take us out of here.”

Skyfire was too dazed and rattled to notice that when Skywarp warped, he only took the shuttle-mech with him.

“Starscream.” Thundercracker clicked in disapproval but didn’t make a move to stop his trineleader as the very agitated seeker moved to the unconscious forms of those who had attacked his mate and newspark.

“I will not let this go unpunished.”

“Then leave their bodies here. Justice will come.”

Starscream rolled his optics and extended his talons, “No. Justice never prevails Thundercracker. Did our time with the Decepticons teach you nothing?”

“It did, just…perhaps it taught me the wrong things….” The blue seeker murmured, watching unflinchingly as Starscream pierced each attacker’s spark chamber with ease, purring as the frames began to gray.

“Another day, another nameless fades away.”

Thundercracker took to the air as Starscream flared his wings and then flicked them back, sending a null-wave that completely fried any and all surveillance in the area along with the processors of the still greying frames.

“What a shame.” With a smirk on his face and a grim chuckle, the Vosian Winglord took to their air with his right wing, the two heading off to join their respective mates.

 


	4. Aftermath (Starscream)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Starscream does what he does best, though perhaps now that the war is over he should consider changing tactics.

Aftermath  
Starscream, Mentioned Starscream/Skyfire, Celestial (OC)  
(Prime)

“You messed up.”

Starscream didn’t say a word, wings set at a harsh angle as he tried to remind the medic that he was the one in charge here, not the shuttle at his back.  
Unfortunately, that never worked for his predecessor and it wasn’t working now.  
Celestial was having none of it.

“You get to play hotshot out there, but in here, the title of WingLord means nothing. I am in charge of this medbay and you are in my domain.”  
To accentuate his point, Celestial tweaked Starscream’s injured wing hard, rumbling his thrusters in dissatisfaction.

“You broke his trust. Though to be honest, I don’t know how he didn’t expect you to pull a stupid stunt like that. Fraggit Starscream, what is going on in that messed up processor of yours?”  
If Celestial expected an answer, he didn’t show it and Starscream didn’t give one.  
The old shuttle’s lectures were the kind to be endured, not fought.  
A lesson he had learned a long, long time ago.

“I hope you know I am not going to numb your circuits either. It’s going to hurt and I want you to feel it because I know Skyfire is too softhearted to do anything but give you the silent treatment for a few orns. You deserve more than that you idiot.”  
Starscream began to rattle his wings but quickly stopped as a sharp pain ripped through the energon sensors in said appendages and all the way down his spine.  
Perhaps that toss did a lot more damage than he first thought.

Celestial seemed to take satisfaction in his pain, immediately setting to work on bleeding energon lines in his patient’s back. He appeared to be working out what needed to be said next, taking careful stock in the impact of each word.

“You are lucky this is all the damage done you know. I am not so much worried about your dumb aft as I am the newspark. Stupid, stupid idiot.” Celestial punctuated his words with hard flicks of the wrist, causing pain to reverberate up Starscream’s spine and ending at the tips of each wing.  
Of course the seeker didn’t so much as flinch.  
After all, Megatron had done much, much worse.

Celestial paused, hands stilling where they were hovering over a mild bleed, blue optics narrowed in both concentration and a bit of anger.  
“You know, you don’t need to manipulate us to get your way around here. All you had to do was ask.”

Starscream still didn’t say a word, though his wings canted the slightest bit in puzzlement.  
Then, when Celestial made no move to continue, he vented softly and turned to look over his shoulder.  
“You know as well as I do that Skyfire wouldn’t have gone through with it.”

“No, because it was a stupid idea!” Celestial raised his voice, instantly feeling bad when Starscream visibly cringed and huddled inwards the slightest bit as if he were preparing to be beaten.  
They were still working on breaking old habits.

Noticing what he had done, Starscream quickly corrected the posture, flaring his wings out and ignoring the pain that came with it.  
“Then what would you have had me do?!”

“Not get sparked just so you could sic your coding hazed bondmate on a group of Predacons in revenge! Primus Starscream, what in the pit is wrong with you?!” Celestial stood back, knowing that if he crowded too close, he would end up spooking Starscream again.

“You SAW what they did to me Celestial! They /killed/ me!” By now the enraged WingLord had pushed off the medical berth, fire in his optics as he rounded on the much larger shuttle.  
“They HAD to pay and the only way to get you pacifist lot to do anything useful is to stir up creator and guardian protocols! This was simply the easiest way to do that.”

Celestial didn’t even realize he had smacked Starscream until he saw the silver seeker on the ground looking up at him in shock.

“…S…Starscream I….” The apology got stuck in his vocalizer when Starscream began to laugh, expression going eerily blank.

“See? What did I just say? All of you are coding hazed. You have to protect the WingLord’s spawn at all costs.” He began laughing again, though the sound was hollow and pained.  
“Even if it is from the WingLord himself…”

“Starscream….” Celestial pulled his hand back, wings shaking with what he had done.

“Self-repair should take care of the rest.” Starscream rolled to his feet with a slight stumble, though he still made the movement look effortless.  
“I thank you for your services Celestial.” The smirk on the silver seeker’s face was terrifying in its emptiness and Celestial found he could do nothing but watch as their new leader limped out the medbay door, a trail of energon in his wake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Had been hesitant to post this one for a few different reasons. One, because there is an OC involved and two, because this has sort of turned into a several part saga. I had considered waiting until it was finished and posting it on it's own, but ultimately decided to just put it up. If I happen to round it out enough to stand on it's own, I will do so, but for now this will do :)


	5. Glitches (Skyfire/Starscream)

Glitches  
Skyfire/Starscream  
(Prime)

 

“Your coding is warped.”

Skyfire knew he was about to start a fight, but his bondmate hadn’t been exactly right in the head ever since the WingLord coding had officially activated.  
And Skyfire had an idea as to why.

Starscream looked displeased at the spoken words and Skyfire braced himself for a verbal battle.

“What did you say to me?”

“There is something wrong with you Starscream!” Skyfire never used his partner’s full designation unless it was serious, and he knew Starscream was painfully aware of this.

“There is nothing wrong with me!”

“You are fighting the WingLord coding and it is making you glitch out!” 

Starscream rattled his wings in aggression and Skyfire reached out to grab one of them, pinching it hard.  
“No, you listen to me! You keep fighting it and you /will/ have some sort of meltdown. Our processors aren’t meant to fight core coding!”

“I am /fine/ Skyfire! Frag it, let me go!” Starscream hissed and twisted, though Skyfire kept a firm grip on the wing he held.

“No, you are not fine! No mecha with proper coding would be combatting dominant protocols! I would think you would want to allow the Winglord coding to activate! This is what you always wanted isn’t it?” Skyfire sounded distressed, hating having to do this to the one he loved.

“I am in complete control of myself, I don’t need some outside force to tell me what to do!” Starscream finally succeeded in forcing Skyfire to release his wing, as holding onto it would cause actual physical harm to the smaller seeker. 

“Usually I would agree with you Star, but this is something completely different. If you want to rule over Vos and keep her safe, then you really ought to let this work!”

Skyfire had heard of mecha that fought strong coding before and it never had ended well.

Starscream had backed off wings pressed low against his back as he moved to keep Skyfire constantly in his view.

It hurt a bit to be treated like such a threat, but this conversation needed to happen.

“I’m different. I don’t need some pre-written processor codes to help me rule my people. I learned well enough from my predecessor!”

“And how do you think he managed to perform his role so well? Star, please, please listen to reason just this once!” Skyfire was already nearing the point of begging, which was a sign of how truly concerned he was.

“Are you trying to discredit StormCaller?!”

“No, I am trying to credit him for accepting his calling and allowing the protocols to take priority in his processor. Star…you can’t keep fighting this…Please, let someone look at your coding and maybe-“

Skyfire caught his mate’s intentions through the bond seconds before Starscream launched at him.

Luckily that was all he needed to counteract the raging seeker.

Starscream got reckless when he got emotional and Skyfire took advantage, moving quickly to the side and spinning around to catch the attacking seeker’s talons before they could embed themselves into delicate shuttle wings.

“How dare you!? Let me GO!”

“No! You are going to see reason!” Skyfire hated to get physical, but there were times when the only solution was to forcibly pin Starscream down until he had worked all his rage out and the two of them could speak calmly.

Another unfortunate trait Megatron had cultivated into Skyfire’s broken bondmate.

“Fraggit Skyfire let me GO!”

“No!” Skyfire used his size to his advantage, gripping both of Starscream’s hands in one of his own, he awkwardly walked the seeker over to the window and the large seat beneath it.

In these situations, Skyfire had learned to keep Starscream in view of open skies, otherwise conflict like this triggered nasty flashbacks that Skyfire didn’t want to inflict on an already mentally damaged and highly volatile war veteran.

“You and I are going to sit here until we reach a solution.” Skyfire wasn’t Megatron, if Starscream calmly and reasonably explained his side well enough, he would back down and let the Winglord have his way.

That didn’t mean though, that Skyfire was going to make it easy.

Starscream gave one hell of a fight, and Skyfire had to admit that he was impressed with his mate’s stamina.

Eventually though, he wore down, leaning against the cushioning of the seat they were on, vents pushing hard to cool an overheated frame.

“Frag you.”

“Are you ready to talk this through diplomatically?” Skyfire spoke calmly, his fingers stroking the back of Starscream’s hand the entire time he held the seeker in his grip.

“If that is the only way to get you to let me go, then I suppose I have no choice.”

“There is always a choice Star…You know I would never hurt you.”

To prove his point, Skyfire released Starscream’s hands, and as he had predicted, the seeker willingly stayed put.

“Now, tell me why you so vehemently reject the idea of letting the coding run fully active.”

“I can feel it…” Starscream scowled, shifting into a more comfortable position which basically planted him in Skyfire’s large lap.

“I feel it wanting to alter my thoughts, trying to push my decisions…”

“That is what it is supposed to do though…” However, it did seem concerning that Starscream could feel it at work.

That part definitely was unusual.

“It wasn’t like this when trine coding went into effect…” Starscream had calmed down considerably, tracing the Altihexian badge on Skyfire’s chestplates with one large talon, optics dimming in slight exhaustion from their struggle.

“I will admit, that isn’t exactly…normal.”

Dominant coding was supposed to run secondary and use no detectable amount of processor power. It was designed to be completely imperceptible and that Starscream could feel it meant that something was wrong.

Unfortunately, there was only one way to fix that and Skyfire was sure it would be a fight to get Starscream to agree.

Feeling his mates emotional conflict in the bond, Starscream let out a small snarl.

“I am not going to let someone inside my head. Not ever again.” The words were sharp and definite, leaving no room for objection. Nothing had been right since the cortical psychic patch, and Starscream feared they never would be again. 

“Star…I…I understand your reluctance but…having a medic or a specialist like Veil hardline….it wouldn’t be anything like that…”

Starscream snarled, wings rattling, “You wouldn’t know.”

“Veil and Celestial have both been in my processor Star….it didn’t hurt and it wasn’t humiliating. I didn’t even see what they saw.”

The reluctance to hardline was natural after all, it wasn’t fun having another mech root around in your processor.

Still, there were those who did this for their jobs. Professionals whose single goal was to make the mech under their care feel better.

Starscream would have nothing to fear.

Unfortunately, his only true experience with hardline had been through a method that made even Hardwire cringe, and the mnemosurgeon used his talents for similarly nefarious purposes within special operations. 

“I don’t care. I don’t want anyone in my head!”

“Star…”

“That’s final!” Starscream had finally had enough, pushing himself off Skyfire and stumbling to his feet.

“The glitches are still better than having someone root around in my processor!” Wings hiked high, the now fully agitated seeker was heading to the door.

“Star please wait!” Skyfire went to move, but it only made Starscream scuttle towards the door faster.

“No! You have fully presented your side Skyfire and I evoke my right to reject your opinion.” He slammed his servo against the door controls and they opened with a hiss.

“Now if you will excuse me…I have things to do.”

Skyfire stayed still, watching helplessly as Starscream backed out the door, ruby optics narrowed as the door shut, effectively cutting the two off from one another.

He couldn’t help but let out a small keen of pain for his mentally damaged mate and what the millennia of war had done to him.

Would there ever be any reprieve for him?

Instead of going after Starscream like he wanted, Skyfire stayed in his spot under the window, servos shaking the slightest bit as he watched the silver streak that was his bondmate fly by, heading out of the city and into the atmosphere.

There was nothing to do now but wait and hope that the glitches didn’t get any worse.


	6. Mistakes (Lobe/Trepan)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Even those in the Senate’s employ aren’t safe from it’s wrath? Or are they?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, first real combo-breaker here! An MTMTE chapter! This little drabble was inspired by the botched attempt to shadowplay Megatron at Messatine when Froid says “You realize I am going to suffer for this.” (Also posted on tumblr rp blog)

Mistake  
Trepan/Lobe  
(MTMTE)

Lobe wasn’t exactly expecting the pitch-black darkness of his shared apartment with Trepan when he returned after his shift, optics furiously resetting as they tried to adjust.

Making a face, Lobe slapped at the wall for the control pad when the automatic lighting system didn’t kick on nor did it respond to his pinged command.

“Fraggit....Trepan are you in here? Why is it so dark?” Finally the lights kicked on and Lobe stopped short, optics widening a fraction at the sight before him.

His protege was laying across the large couch in the shared living area, optics dimmed and unfocused as he gently swirled a vicious-looking orange liquid within an energon shot-cube.

“...Trepan?”

Slowly the other mech turned to look at Lobe, though his optics still had that glazed look about them.  
“Oh good. You’re home.”

“...Trepan what is wrong with you?” Lobe could tell from the color of the drink in Trepan’s hand alone that it was a specially modified mix of high-grade. One specifically designed for their high consuming processors.

Trepan laughed, downing the rest of the liquid in one quick swallow.  
“I’m done for.”

Lobe hit the controls for the door, stepping away as they shut with a quiet hiss.  
“And what do you mean by that.”

“We failed.” Trepan giggled, waving his now empty cube in Lobe’s direction.  
“They changed the laws...and we failed.”

“What in Primus’ name are you talking about?” Lobe scowled at the empty cube, though he didn’t move from his spot.  
Something had to have gone wrong. Trepan never allowed himself to become this far gone.

“The...personality adjustment laws...yannow...” Trepan again waved the cube, this time in annoyance, as if it held all the answers and Lobe just stupidly couldn’t see it.

“....” It then clicked in the other mnemosurgeon’s head. Today was the day Trepan would have returned from his trip out to Messatine with Froid. They had special orders to perform a P.A. on a dissident miner out there.  
“....The laws changed?”

“Need two signatures now.” Trepan held up two fingers over his glass, needles extending from the digits with a soft / _slikt_ /.

“...I hardly see how that is your fault.” Lobe startled a bit when Trepan barked a laugh, flopping against the backrest of the couch and reaching over for more of the orange liquid.  
“When has that ever mattered before? Job didn’t get done.” Trepan wasn’t slurring completely, though it took him several tries of grabbing at nothing before he finally managed to grip the large bottle that held the potent concoction he was drinking.

“Job didn’t get done. I got rushed. Messy. Incomplete operation. Didn’t have time to clean up.” Trepan wisely opted to not poor himself another glass, instead just taking a large swig right from the source.  
“They’re gonna punish me. Jus’ know it.”  
The empty glass Trepan had been holding clattered to the ground noisily as the surgeon switched his attention to the bottle, though it surprisingly remained unbroken. 

“You are going to be fine. None of that was your fault. Who did they send to stop you?” Lobe finally moved then, taking a seat by his increasingly inebriated colleague.  
He had to try his best to be a voice of reason here.

No one was going to touch Trepan.

Not if Lobe had anything to say about it. 

“ _Rung_.” Trepan laughed again, falling to the side as Lobe sat down, the smaller mnemosurgeon nuzzling up to his partner.  
“Can you fraggin’ believe it?”

“Doesn’t surprise me...” Lobe gently reached a hand around Trepan’s shoulders, running it lightly along the tubing at the other mech’s side.

“They’re gonna come for me Lobe....wanna be drunk when they do...blackout drunk. Dun’ wanna remember anythin’.” Another swig and then Trepan buried his face in the crook of Lobe’s neck.

“No one is coming Trepan.”

“They will...You’re prolly gonna be the one to do it too...” Trepan stilled, though the hands that were gripping his bottle were trembling the slightest bit.

“Trepan-”

“Lobe...please...if they make you do it...please kill me...please...”

“Trepan what are you talking about?!” Lobe gently pried the bottle from his friend’s fingers, setting it to the side in order to prevent a spill.

“ _Empurata_....they’ll take everything from me...” Trepan’s vents hitched, glassy optics widening in fear.  
“Please Lobe, I would rather be dead...please...it would be so easy. You could make it look like an accident.”

“Trepan, they aren’t going to punish you. No one is going to do anything alright?”

The smaller mech was beyond reason though, and Trepan shook his head as the trembling spread from his hands to his whole body.  
“Please Lobe, I don’t want to live like that, please!”

“Trepan listen to me-”

“Promise me Lobe, promise me you’ll kill me. Please...”

Lobe could feel his faceplates going slack as many different emotions raged within him. Trepan looked absolutely terrified, and it was not an expression that suited the normally cocky and self-assured mnemosurgeon.  
It wasn’t even like his fears were completely unfounded either. Their employers had punished others in their field for less after all.

But Trepan and Lobe were different.  
They were the Senate’s prized contributors to the cause and two of the very, very few mechs who were made for this sole purpose.  
The others, they were expendable.

Trepan was not.

But at the moment, the mech in question was not in a rational mindset and Lobe knew there was only one way to calm the other down and allow them both some hopefully uninterrupted recharge for the night.

“Alright Trepan....If it comes to that, I will offline you myself. Quickly and painlessly.”

As the words were spoken, Trepan relaxed, his shaking subsiding to a minor trembling that came and went.  
“Thank you...”

The other mech’s optics dimmed further, and Lobe extended his needles to gently run them along Trepan’s plating in a soothing manner.

The motion had the desired effect, and soon Lobe’s colleague slipped into recharge, venting even and field finally calmed.

Lobe remained still for some time afterwards, continuing his soothing strokes until he too was to the point of exhaustion.  
Instead of getting up and risking waking the other mech, Lobe carefully shifted their positions on the couch so that Trepan was situated in front with Lobe’s arms gently wrapped around him from behind.

They both were probably going to have uncomfortable kinks in the morning, but at the moment Lobe didn’t particularly care.

They were both safe after all.

Safe and where they belonged.

And no one, repeat, no one, was going to touch Trepan.  
Lobe would make sure of that.

 


End file.
